Kenmore State School tops NAPLAN results for second year

Last year, this Queensland primary school got national publicity for its exceptional literacy growth. Principal Glenn Forbes attributed that growth to “a consistent approach to teaching reading”. That approach was Reading to Learn, which Kenmore was starting to implement across the school.

In 2016, Kenmore’s results were even stronger, shown in these NAPLAN charts for Year 3. Literacy coordinator, Ingrid Freeman, explains that R2L was introduced in the lower school (Prep, Year 1 & 2) in 2014. Targeted support was provided for teachers to implement R2L from 2015.

In reading and writing, steady improvement can be seen from 2014, from average to well above national and similar schools. Spelling improved suddenly in 2016, as lower school teachers made the decision to use the R2L spelling strategies, in place of their traditional spelling practices. Grammar and punctuation have seen huge growth, following R2L’s integrated approach to grammar as meaning. Numeracy has also grown to well above other schools, using R2L’s strategies for teaching the language of maths.

These results, so far above state, national and like schools averages, are especially remarkable as Kenmore has a major program for students with special needs. The literacy and numeracy growth of these students, along with the whole school, is a testament to the power of R2L to meet the needs of all students in the school.